


Show Me the Way

by ginwannabe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Styx (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginwannabe/pseuds/ginwannabe
Summary: As Harry has learned of Dumbledore's past, he struggles to come to terms his feelings of betrayal as once more his faith in one he trusted is tested.This story is based on the song, Show Me the Way by Styx and is set during Deathly Hallows, between chapters 18-19 in the American edition.
Kudos: 2





	Show Me the Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [julsweav](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julsweav/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter related belongs to JK Rowling. The song is Show Me the Way by Styx. This story is dedicated to my dear friend Juls. It’s her birthday and she and I were discussing Styx and this song, and this plot bunny arrived and it seemed like the perfect gift for her. Happy Birthday, love!

_Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there’s a heaven  
And every day I’m more confused as the saints turn into sinners  
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay  
And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I’ve lost my faith_

Harry sat in the dark and pulled his cloak tighter around him in an effort to block out the cold. He looked up from the book that was sitting in his lap, _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. _ He let out a long sigh as he looked up towards the sky. Once again, his faith in someone had been shattered. Mad-Eye Moody had turned out to be Barty Crouch, Jr. in disguise. He’d never fully trusted Snape, but he knew that Dumbledore had, and his blood boiled at the thought of that trust having been betrayed. His own father had not been as “good-hearted” as he’d been led to believe. Hell, even Ron had walked out on him. And now, if he were to believe Rita Skeeter, Dumbledore had not been the man Harry thought him to be. 

He tossed the book to the ground and stood up, looking out at the woods around him. He could hear Hermione’s slow, steady breathing behind him in the tent. He took a few steps away from the tent, clenching and unclenching his hands around the unfamiliar wand. He briefly muttered _Muffliato_ and then let loose with a string of obscenities cursing those who had betrayed him.

“What is it you want from me, Professor? What is it you expect of me? And why should I do it, when you didn’t feel I was worthy of all the information?” he yelled toward heaven, hoping that the cold, crisp wind would carry his words to the man who had sent him on this journey. “You gave me this mission, but you didn’t give me all that I need to complete it. I’m left out here, not knowing where to look next, not knowing how to destroy the locket, Ron’s gone, Hermione probably should have gone with him, for all the good I am in knowing what to do next. Tell me what I’m supposed to do, damn it!”

_Show me the way, show me the way  
Take me tonight to the river  
And wash my illusions away  
Show me the way_

He picked up a stone and chucked it as far as he could across the stream they had made camp next to. The act did little to ease the tension that filled him from deep within. He could feel the anger brewing like a black cauldron of potion, bubbling just beneath the surface and the slightest bump could send it pouring out burning everything in its wake. He heard a twig snap behind him and spun around wielding Hermione’s wand. He froze as he saw Hermione standing in front of him, her hands up as if to defend herself from her own wand.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” she began shakily, “it’s time to switch shifts.”

Harry lowered the wand and simply shook his head. His untamed black locks even more unruly after months of living in the wild. Hermione followed him back to the tent.

“Harry, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Hermione. Just peachy. I’m tired, good night.”

He continued into the tent and strode over to his bunk. He was untying his shoes when Hermione stuck her head back inside the tent.

“Harry,” she began, timidly.

“I _said_ I’m fine Hermione. I’m just tired,” he said through gritted teeth.

A flush of anger flashed over her face and she stepped in fully and put her hands on her hips.

“No, you’re not fine! You know it and I know it. But I don’t really give a damn about that right now. I need my wand,” she said exasperatedly.

Harry had the good sense to look slightly sheepish as he stood up and handed Hermione her wand. He’d only heard Hermione curse a handful of times in the seven years he’d known her. 

“Give me the locket, too, Harry. I think you’ve had it on long enough.”

He started to object, but at seeing the glare Hermione had fixed on him, he reached up and removed the locket from around his neck and handed it over as well. Hermione took it and without a word spun around, grabbed a blanket off her bunk and made her way back outside.

Harry climbed into his own bunk and pulled the covers up over him trying to warm himself from the chill he felt. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be warm again, as the chill seemed to be coming from within as much as from the weather outside.

_And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred  
I close my eyes and know there’s peace in a world so filled with hatred  
That I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we’ve so far to go  
And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid that I just wont know_

As he closed his eyes, unbidden Ginny’s face floated before them. He tried to remember those few short weeks when she had been his. He had found comfort in her arms and in her kiss. With all he’d been through, those weeks were his one source of peace. He fell asleep imagining her arms around him as a little of the tension he had been feeling melted away.

He awoke the next day to find Hermione huddled in the entrance and reading, _Hogwarts a History_. He groaned as he sat up to face another day of not knowing where to go or what to look for. As he stepped outside the tent, he saw that Hermione had gathered some more mushrooms for breakfast. If he never saw another mushroom again it would be too soon, but after the way he had spoken to her last night he managed a smile and a quiet, “Thank you,” to which she responded only with a shrug and a nod. As Hermione waved her wand and folded up the tent and put it inside the beaded bag, he once again felt an unspeakable guilt for dragging her into this.

“I’m sorry,” he said, quietly.

She sighed, and looked up at him, “It’s okay, Harry, the locket makes us say and do things we wouldn’t normally, just look at Ron.”

“Not about last night. Well, I _am_ sorry about last night, but more for dragging you into this. I don’t know what I’m doing. I thought I had made that clear, but I guess I hadn’t. I keep thinking that something will happen, that I’ll find a clue and suddenly it’ll all make sense to me and I’ll know what we’re supposed to do, where we’re supposed to go. But I haven’t seen it yet. Or what if I have and I didn’t realize it?”

“Harry, you know I’d never let you do this on your own. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, nothing in the past seven years has been. We’re in this together,” she gave him a smile and took his hand. “Now let’s go somewhere else.”

_Show me the way, show me the way  
Take me tonight to the mountain  
And take my confusion away_

_And if I see a light, should I believe  
Tell me how will I know_

Harry and Hermione set up camp in the Forest of Dean. Harry was once again sitting watch, struggling to stay awake, and pondering where this journey was taking him and Hermione. He wished again for a sign to show him the way he was supposed to go. It was then that he saw the odd, silvery light that beckoned for him to follow.

~*~

_Show me the way, show me the way  
Take me tonight to the river  
And wash my illusions away  
Show me the way, show me the way  
Give me the strength and the courage  
To believe that I’ll get there someday  
Show me the way  
  
Every night I say a prayer  
In the hope that theres a heaven..._

Later that night, Harry could hear Hermione’s steady breathing, and Ron’s familiar snore as he sat keeping watch at the entrance to the tent. He was comforted by the way the two sounds complemented each other, and it brought him a peace he hadn’t felt in weeks. He looked once more up toward the sky and muttered a quiet _“Thank you”_ to whomever it was who had sent the doe. Ron was back, and the locket had been destroyed. The journey was not over, but with one less Horcrux to destroy Harry finally felt as if a little progress had been made in the mission to defeat Voldemort. 

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to keep this story as close to canon as possible, which was difficult since Rowling described the time between Harry receiving the book and the Silver Doe arriving in such detail. I hope that you feel this fits in at least just a little.


End file.
